Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 708 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 13,228 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 708 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Masco were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. State Street Corp boosted its position in Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after buying an additional 194,297 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Masco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,825,000 after acquiring an additional 26,259 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 995,950 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,600,000 after purchasing an additional 14,870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in Masco by 956.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,070,000 after purchasing an additional 895,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $78.42 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.83. The stock has a market cap of $16.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Masco Profile

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.